LudumData

Battery Life by justinooncx

[raw]
made by justinooncx for LD 39 (COMPO)

Screen1.png Screen5.png Screen2.png Screen3.png Screen4.png GIF1.gif

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The teleporter's out of energy, but at the end of this small dungeon lies a battery with just enough juice for a jump! Will you be able to retrieve the battery, or will you be stuck here forever?

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This is a HTML5 compo entry for Ludum Dare which turned into quite a frustrating monster, both gameplay- and development-wise. If you DO manage to finish the game, let me know what your final score is! Even if you didn't, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll try out your game as well!

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HOW TO PLAY + TIPS:

  1. A battery must be plugged into the console before you can play!
  2. The bouncing green circle charges batteries that it touches!
    • It's best to drag a battery around to follow the green circle for maximum charging speed!
    • For best results, do it while you're playing the game so the battery will be ready when you run out of power!
  3. Press the power button to turn on the console!
  4. The button on the left toggles the backlight, the one on the right toggles sound!
  5. Having one toggled on doubles the battery's usage, tripled if both are on!
  6. AD to move, W to jump, S to use your shield!
  7. The shield makes you impervious to damage, but you are unable to move for half a second!
  8. Save points save your progress; make sure you touch them, or you'll have to do over!
  9. Death floors will activate randomly, listen out for the cue!
  10. Sawblades blend in well with the background, keep the backlight on! Or you can squint real hard, that's okay too.
  11. Ghosts randomly appear after you obtain the battery; kill them with your shield!
  12. Your time score is calculated EVEN WHEN THE GAME IS OFF. Getting a good score means managing your batteries properly!
  13. After obtaining the battery at the end of the level, you must travel back to the start of the level where the teleporter awaits!

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Tools:

  • GraphicsGale - Pixel art
  • bfxr.net - Sound effects
  • fakemusicgenerator.com - Randomly generated music
  • GXSCC - Coverting Midi to 8bit
  • Audacity - Cropping audio
  • Game Maker Studio - Game engine

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HTML5 (web) https://justinooncx.itch.io/battery-life
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/39/battery-life

Ratings

Overall 17th 4.159⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Fun 90th 3.705⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 6th 4.477⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Theme 1th 4.705⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 107th 3.864⭐ 46🧑‍⚖️
Audio 58th 3.732⭐ 43🧑‍⚖️
Humor 119th 3.189⭐ 39🧑‍⚖️
Mood 136th 3.447⭐ 40🧑‍⚖️
Given 37🗳️ 43🗨️

Feedback

AkirAssasin
31. Jul 2017 · 11:21 UTC
Your game-in-a-games have always been fun to play, and this is no exception! I was not able to go far though :) Didn't know about the shield until I read this page, maybe a tutorial in-game (paper manual?) would be helpful!
Aterlamia
31. Jul 2017 · 13:39 UTC
What a cool concept running out of power in as wlel the meta game as the internal game. For me the gameboy screen was a littlebit on the dark side but i could see enough to play so it was not realy a problem
🎤 justinooncx
31. Jul 2017 · 14:05 UTC
Hey, thanks for playing, @akirassasin! I wondered if I should've let the player know about the shield, and was hoping they'd experiment with all WASD buttons to figure it out. If enough people missed the shield, then I'll have to put an in-game sign or something! Seemed to have the problem of people not knowing they should go back the way they came as well.

Thanks for the feedback, @aterlamia! You can click on the left button on the GameBoy to toggle the backlight, which allows you to see clearly, but the game CAN be played without it! Turning it on makes your energy drain faster, that's all!
Shawn Beck
31. Jul 2017 · 16:27 UTC
I got to the end where Pac-Man tried to eat me. Not sure if that's the end but it didn't proceed thereafter. The puzzles were well-designed and the mechanic is unique as always. I tried platforming and charging at the same time but realised it was pointless since swapping the batteries kills the game (well duh). Would've been nice to have built-in batteries in these things. Awesome job. Well done!
🎤 justinooncx
31. Jul 2017 · 16:56 UTC
@shawn-beck Whoops, seems that I'll have to be a bit more clearer... Once you reach the end, you must make your way back to the start and put the battery in the machine, then the game officially ends! You're not the first one who didn't know they had to backtrack. Anyway, thanks for playing!
Rushar
31. Jul 2017 · 17:20 UTC
As of now, this is the best game I've seen in the compo. It's clever, it's fun, the music and sounds are great, and the artwork works perfectly for what it is. Consider me impressed and entertained.
EX3D0
31. Jul 2017 · 17:29 UTC
This game was extremely fun to play, even though I suck at it :stuck_out_tongue:

You really captured that old retro style quite well in the music and graphics. I found it really enjoyable and the battery recharge mechanic added just a nice touch of difficulty.
dreadloaf
01. Aug 2017 · 00:12 UTC
Really awesome take on the theme! I unfortunately wasn't able to get very far as it was quite difficult but I t was still really fun! Only thing that I would change is improve the charging speed slightly but it may be part of your design that you need to wait in between sessions. 5/5
Jegus9
01. Aug 2017 · 14:49 UTC
That was a pretty nice game, I like the "game inside a game" style, and the music also stood out. I don't know if it's because I suck at this game, but I spent a lot of time waiting for the batteries to charge :c
Edmanbosch
01. Aug 2017 · 16:05 UTC
I really love this game. It's pretty much a game inside a game, and you have to manage your batteries to complete it. It's really cool and is definitely one of my favorite games for this jam.
Lun8
01. Aug 2017 · 17:07 UTC
Really fun idea!
MiltonNH25
01. Aug 2017 · 17:20 UTC
Great job with this game. I really like the take on the theme and it creates some interesting game play. The graphics were very nice and i loved the music for it. Solid and fun game.
Stracker
01. Aug 2017 · 18:56 UTC
Very, very cool ! The idea is really good, the only negative is that charging batteries is kinda frustrating.
DrDolan
01. Aug 2017 · 21:01 UTC
I think I beated it in 2400 seconds.

It's a good idea for a game but it might be frustrating at times.
Odd1In
01. Aug 2017 · 22:19 UTC
This is a really good idea and it would be nice to see it go further.
Remzo
01. Aug 2017 · 22:37 UTC
Great concept and execution! The level design is also adds a lot to the game. There's something very funny about focusing hard in order to beat a section and having your screen and audio cut out. Really enjoyed that! I managed to get to the battery at the end but could not make the way back. Admittedly I forgot completely about the shield ability. I feel like the battery charging minigame where you chase the green thing doesn't add too much to the game since it's impossible to do both at the same time anyway and you are just waiting for it to fill. Maybe increase the battery charge rate? Fun game!
ProgrammingDimension
01. Aug 2017 · 22:44 UTC
Nice concept, you took the theme a step further.

This game remembers me my old times struggling to play the game boy in the dark to save some battery power.

I liked the idea, but I liked the game too, you achieved good mechanics overall.

Good game and a good use of the theme.
Godot35
01. Aug 2017 · 22:44 UTC
The idea for the game is cool, but the execution of that idea is frustrating. The backlight makes the game much more playable on my screen, but it drains the batteries quicker, and the batteries take a frustrating amount of time to recharge.

Overall, nice idea and game, but it could use some improvements to make it less frustrating.
randomphantom
02. Aug 2017 · 00:31 UTC
Pretty innovative concept but the battery runs out too fast and charges up too slowly which breaks up the flow of the game. Those sections at the end are super challenging, plan to replay this though. Great entry!
kroltan
02. Aug 2017 · 21:33 UTC
Really like the idea! Also, saw through your Cave Story inspiration for sprites... xD
It seems that by keeping the batteries over the green particle thing they charge faster? Or is it just placebo?
Amatwiedle
02. Aug 2017 · 22:40 UTC
This is by far my favorite submission this jam, keep up the good work :grin:
MaggardJosh
02. Aug 2017 · 23:11 UTC
This was such an interesting concept! It was brutally hard though :grin: I couldn't get far because I got too frustrated with recharging the batteries. Good entry!
Ajayajayaj
03. Aug 2017 · 01:05 UTC
Wow, such a cool idea! I love it! 5 star game! Even though the music is random, it fits with the game well. The batteries dying annoyed me a lot, making me not win, but it still is such a cool concept.
ALeal_Dev
03. Aug 2017 · 02:07 UTC
Very clever this concept! It reminds me of my childhood playing my Sega GameGear and wasting batteries all over the time :P

Liked it a lot but I felt the platforming a bit frustrating (Maybe i'm just very bad). Good game!
harusame
03. Aug 2017 · 17:37 UTC
Wow, a clever concept !
I love it, very funny :)

Good job !
Rulrite
03. Aug 2017 · 17:40 UTC
A very meta idea! I really enjoyed this game, even if the batteries took a little too long to charge for my liking. Rushing to the next checkpoint was a lot of fun, though: it certainly reminded me of the struggles of portable gaming, haha.

The brightness switch is such a cool mechanic, by the way. I love that there are traps you can see only with the backlight turned on!
Laaph
03. Aug 2017 · 19:23 UTC
I spent longer on your game than any other so far (2000 seconds). I very challenging game. I would almost complain about the unfair challenge but it actually works, the only unfairness I could possibly state is the red boxes give no warning and the timing such that I can't tell when they will change or if its random or if I've spent too long on red boxes.

Very cool game! Very well done!
Goloso Games
03. Aug 2017 · 21:48 UTC
Favorite theme adaptation so far. Game is great and fun, I really enjoy playing it. Sometimes, charging batteries is a little bit frustrating, but except that, I want to play more of this ! Well done !
yawoada
03. Aug 2017 · 22:53 UTC
Really interesting take on the theme! Took me back to the days of playing Pokemon Red on the Game Boy and holding my breath whenever I had to save on low battery. I think there should have been more that you can do during the wait period between battery charges to keep the game engaging. Still a fun and creative game!
CMLSC
04. Aug 2017 · 08:07 UTC
I think this is the best Ludum Dare game I've played so far! :smile:

I loved your use of the theme! The pixel art and audio were both great. Unfortunately I got stuck on the part with the 1 tile height gaps between the saws and the spikes. I couldn't seem to get through. I have two suggestions: 1. Make the saws actually invisible if your brightness isn't on because I never needed it. 2. Make the batteries charge a bit quicker. The instructions say the green dot charges them, but it doesn't do it every time. I'd suggest letting the batteries hold more charges(that get used faster in the game), but the green dot charges them every time it goes from not hitting to hitting the battery. That'd make it so that players would be shaking the battery over the green dot, which makes that part more engaging.

Great job though! :slight_smile:
Jupiter_Hadley
11. Aug 2017 · 11:33 UTC
Very clever! I included it in my Ludum Dare 39 compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIFo4JBAdvc
LukeZaz
13. Aug 2017 · 23:24 UTC
Fantastic application of the theme, I gotta say. My only complaint with it is that the backlight and sound cost way too much power; I'd love to enjoy looking at it brightly lit and get to hear the sound, but I feel like I can't if I want to progress very much. Other than that, I couldn't tell the save points had been activated until I died, which was confusing at first. Nonetheless, very well done!
Drachmor
22. Aug 2017 · 07:46 UTC
A very clever game with an impressive amount of mechanics! The platformer itself was fun, the added challenge of reaching the next checkpoint in time before losing battery was interesting, and the audio/visuals were great too! It's a shame that the player can't really enjoy the game's music or visuals however, as doing so eats up power so fast that reaching the next save point is sometimes non achievable. The concept of music and better visuals requiring power is interesting, but I'm not sure it was the best way to handle the theme (the music and visuals were so appealing; I wanted to enjoy them without being penalized!) Also: after the "somebody is stalking me" part, the game was maybe a tad too unforgiving. Despite these criticisms, I really, really am impressed with the entry - great job!
feips
22. Aug 2017 · 11:25 UTC
Beautiful game and interesting idea! I'd suggest making the stars which kill you a bit lighter, because I had a hard time seeing them. Also, does the game end at the battery... at the end? Because there was a wall and I didn't know how to proceed.
gonutz
22. Aug 2017 · 15:32 UTC
OK so I had to read through your instructions, all the way to the end, to get the most vital information: that I have to go back to the start of the level to finish it. There is no clue in the game to hint me at that. A simple in-game text message would have been enough to not break the immersion.

After trying to go back for some time while the batteries only get half charged at most, I rage quit this game because the extra mechanic with the batteries is not adding anything to the game other than frustration!

That said, I really liked the idea when I saw it and the save points are well placed, good concept but then why do the batteries not seem to charge. They stop at half power and then it's not fun anymore.

I love the graphics, the pixelated game boy and batteries look good and the sound is cool as well, very authentic. Then again, you put all this effort into creating the graphics and sound and then in order to save power I have to play on low light mode with the sound muted, taking out the fun again.

My guess is that you had this idea for the theme and then ran with it without realizing that it would eventually harm the game experience. That is OK with me, I am just telling you what I felt while playing the game :-)

Overall still a very cool entry, I like that you did not just create a platformer and leave it at that but rather put a new spin on it. Very cool, keep up the great work!
Linver
23. Aug 2017 · 13:00 UTC
@justinooncx Man, it's very funny fact, but we made the one game, REALLY :)
I like this idea, of course!
shru
31. Aug 2017 · 23:26 UTC
How did nobody point out that the chara is Vivian James until now?
buttonmasherbros
04. Sep 2017 · 16:09 UTC
You've been featured on Ludum Dare to Believe! Check it out here! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wV4msI8xzs